I got this recipe from my sister when we were visiting a few months ago.  I believe she found the recipe on http://www.damndelicious.com.  She kept raving about how wonderful and easy these little cookies are to make, and she boasted that her 3 year old and 18 month old love them as well.  They are dairy free, gluten free, everything free so I was suspicious that they would be lumpy, dry, and tasteless.  They ended up being totally delicious and a true guilt free substitute for sugary, buttery, flour filled treats.  I have been playing around with mine adding various dried fruits, oatmeal, and seeds to make more of a granola bar as well, which is fabulous.  The recipe makes 8-12 cookies depending on size, so I usually double them as they get eaten very quickly.

Ingredients:

-1 cups of pitted Medjool dates (11-12)
-1 1/2 cups of raw walnut halves
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 Tbsp of water)
-Optional additions:
-1/3-1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
-1/4 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries
-1/3 cup of old fashioned oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare baking sheet by lining with wax paper.
2. Use food processor with “S” blade to process dates and walnuts until crumbled and mixed.

3. Add salt, baking soda, vanilla, and flax egg using the pulse feature to not over process (I like the cookies a little chunky, but if you want a smoother consistency feel free to pulse longer).
4. Stir in any optional ingredients that are desired.

5. Wet your hands and flatten out cookies to place on lined baking sheet (they won’t expand so they can be placed pretty close).

Plain followed by Chocolate and Cherry .

6. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until slightly golden brown, allow to cool on pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve warm or store in the fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!